David Walliams has been identified as the celebrity who sought a court order to suppress allegations that he preyed on teenage girls, including one who was 15.
The best-selling children’s author applied to the High Court for an injunction preventing publication of the claims, arguing in what was described as an “unprecedented” case that making them public would lead him to take his own life.
Walliams is accused of abusing his celebrity status to engage in “inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities” with “a large number” of women and girls.
One accuser, identified as Jade by ITV News and The Guardian, alleges that Walliams sexually assaulted her when she was 15 after contacting her online. She said they met in Soho before he drove her to his home in an Aston Martin.
“He asked me to come over and gave me a hug. That’s when he kissed me again,” Jade alleged of Walliams, who was 36 at the time.
“He lifted my top up and sucked on my breast and then tried to put my hand down his trousers. That’s when I pulled away and said ‘no’. He had an erection at the time,” she said.
“I wasn’t ready for sex. I didn’t want to do that, with him or with anyone. I didn’t want to be touched in that way at all. I mean, I was only a 15-year-old.”
Jade said she had told him that she had been sexually abused as a child by someone else. She alleged that he replied: “Sorry to hear that.”
Walliams, 55, a former Britain’s Got Talent judge, launched his High Court bid to stop the allegations being reported, prompting intense online speculation about the identity of the celebrity involved.
A judge rejected his application last week. Walliams did not appeal before the 4.30pm deadline on Monday, and ITV and The Guardian named him at midday on Tuesday.
Several women have accused Walliams of sexually inappropriate behaviour and grooming, including during their teenage years. Another woman, identified only as Alex, alleges that Walliams began contacting her when she was 15 after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event. She says they began a sexual relationship when she was 17.
Walliams has strongly denied abusing his celebrity position in relationships with women, while acknowledging that he had sometimes “behaved thoughtlessly”.
In a statement to ITV News and The Guardian, the comedian said: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with. I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret.
“Whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did.
“I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law. I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
Children’s author and television star David Walliams is accused of using his status to target girls and young women. He denies the allegations
The case comes 11 months after publisher HarperCollins dropped Walliams, a millionaire, following allegations that he had harassed female junior employees.
Jade alleges that Walliams contacted her on MySpace in 2007, when she was 15 and he was at the height of his Little Britain fame.
She said she commented on one of his photographs before he quickly sent her a private message.
“You get this celebrity approaching you. That’s a whole different level of attention,” she said.
“Then you think, I must be a bit special, in a way.”
Jade said they met in Soho in August 2007.
“I was very, very shy,” she said.
“I was quite quiet, so it was mostly him asking questions. We talked a bit about school, but it wasn’t long before he asked me if I’d ever had sex. I said I hadn’t. I didn’t like talking about that sort of thing.”
Jade alleged that Walliams took her into an “alleyway” as they were saying goodbye.
“He sort of edged into the corner where we couldn’t be seen and that’s when he kissed me,” she said.
“His tongue was used. I don’t want to use the word aggressive, but he was quite… excited.”
She alleged that she later went to Walliams’s home, where she was sexually assaulted.
“I think I was still naive about what he wanted to happen. I didn’t think he would want sex, especially that quickly,” she said.
The High Court heard that ITN, the news network, and The Guardian had spoken to more than 100 people, including 30 who provided “first-hand accounts”, during a joint investigation into Walliams.
Unlike previous celebrity privacy cases, Walliams did not argue that publication would breach his right to privacy. Instead, he claimed the reports would breach his right to life because they would cause him to take his own life.
Mr Justice Nicklin nevertheless ruled that the court was not responsible for protecting Walliams’s life in those circumstances and that restraining the media would pose a serious threat to freedom of speech.
Walliams, who became famous through the comedy series Little Britain before establishing himself as a leading television personality, has emphatically denied wrongdoing.
His former romantic partners have included Patsy Kensit, Geri Halliwell, Lisa Snowdon, Ashley James, model Lauren Budd and Miss Norway contender Sylvia Flote.
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His most prominent former partner is Dutch supermodel Lara Stone, to whom he was married for five years.
Although Walliams has achieved major success as a comedian and children’s author, selling more than 60 million books worldwide and building a fortune estimated at £20 million, he has also faced repeated controversy.
Those controversies have included allegations of inappropriate conduct towards colleagues, offensive comments about talent-show contestants and comedy routines criticised as “creepy” and “sick”.
Last week, Sara Mansoori KC told the High Court that Walliams had attempted to take his own life twice since learning of the allegations, including during an escape from a secure hospital in July.
“The [media outlets] wish to publish allegations of wrongdoing which he denies and which the evidence is clear will highly likely lead to his death or psychological injury,” she said.
“The only way [publication] wouldn’t be fatal is if [Walliams] is locked up and prevented from taking his own life.”
Walliams, pictured last month, lost his bid to prevent publication of sexual-abuse allegations and did not appeal the ruling
Walliams was previously married to Dutch model Lara Stone, pictured in 2014
His former girlfriends have included model Lauren Budd, pictured at the height of his fame in 2009
The court heard that Walliams’s “body language completely changed” when he was informed of the allegations in May and that he entered a state of “extreme panic”.
“He started saying that he wanted to kill himself and would seek to do so,” Ms Mansoori said. “Publication of these allegations would lead to a very substantial increase in suicidal ideation and suicidal acts.”
Gavin Millar KC, representing the media organisations, described Walliams’s argument as “unprecedented”. He said it risked drawing the courts into “assessing the causes of suicidal ideation, which are for professionals and not for a judge”.
A psychiatrist who assessed Walliams said his mood disorder was treatable and that it would be “significantly safer” for him to remain in a secure hospital if the allegations were published.
This is not the first time Walliams’s conduct has come under public scrutiny.
In a sketch titled “Hide the Sausage”, part of a 2006 Little Britain stage show, Walliams played a fictional children’s entertainer who invited young male volunteers onto the stage.
Footage that recently resurfaced online showed Walliams humiliating a 16-year-old boy by pulling down his trousers and underwear in front of the audience, saying: “Bingo – you’re a big boy for 16, aren’t you? That’s what I’ll tell the judge.”
The boy appeared to struggle to cover his genitals as Walliams wrestled to kiss his buttocks.
Walliams later defended the sketch, saying: “To me, there are no subjects you can’t make fun of, because if you make that line then you have to get rid of all comedy.”
In January 2018, Walliams apologised after hosting the annual all-male Presidents Club charity dinner at the Dorchester Hotel in London.
An undercover investigation found that female servers had been told to wear revealing black outfits, matching underwear and high heels, and had been subjected to sexually inappropriate behaviour by guests.
Walliams was not accused of harassing the women himself, but later said he was “absolutely appalled” by what had happened.
In November 2022, Walliams’s 10-year tenure as a Britain’s Got Talent judge ended after a leaked transcript revealed that he had made crude and sexually explicit comments about contestants.
The remarks were recorded during auditions at the London Palladium, when microphones captured conversations between the judges during filming breaks.
According to the transcript, Walliams called an older male contestant a “c***” three times after he left the stage. He also said of a female contestant: “She thinks you want to f*** her but you don’t.”
Walliams apologised for the comments and later sued Britain’s Got Talent producer Fremantle, alleging misuse of private information and claiming that the leak had caused psychiatric harm and financial losses. The case was settled out of court.
In June 2025, Walliams was reprimanded by the BBC after performing Nazi salutes during a recording of the Christmas edition of the panel show Would I Lie To You?
The incident occurred during a segment involving actress Helen George, who was discussing an injury she suffered while waving during the Strictly Come Dancing tour.
The BBC described the gesture as “completely unacceptable”, while production company Zeppotron said any attempt to use it as humour was “unacceptable in any context”.
Later that year, HarperCollins announced that it would not publish any new books by Walliams following reports of inappropriate behaviour towards junior female employees.
One former employee was reportedly paid a five-figure sum by the publisher after raising concerns. Other employees said they had been advised to meet Walliams in pairs and not to visit his home.
In September this year, HarperCollins announced that it would stop publishing Walliams’s entire back catalogue, bringing its almost 20-year relationship with the author to an end.
His books, including Gangsta Granny, Mr Stink and Ratburger, have sold more than 60 million copies around the world.
Walliams has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
